#apollo 16

[humanoidhistory]

The launch of Apollo 16 on April 16, 1972.

[lonestarflight]

"Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, works at the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) just prior to deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) during the first extravehicular activity (EVA) on April 21, 1972. Note the Ultraviolet (UV) Camera/Spectrometer to the right of the Lunar Module ladder. Also, note the pile of protective/thermal foil under the U.S. flag on the LM which the astronauts pulled away to get to the Modular Equipment Storage Assembly (MESA) bay. While astronauts Young and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 16 (LM-11) 'Orion' to explore the Descartes highlands landing site on the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM-113) 'Casper' in lunar orbit."

Date: April 21, 1972

NASA ID: AS16-116-18578

[edwhiteandblue]

Apollo 16 Saturn V rocket during Countdown Demonstration Test, March 1972

[gusgrissom]

Remember NASA astronaut Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II (March 17, 1936 – October 31, 2023), who died earlier this week at the age of 87.

Ken, often known as TK, was the command module pilot aboard Apollo 16 in 1972 and flew aboard the space shuttle twice on STS-4 and STS-51-C. He’s also known for being scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but exposure to rubella (which he ultimately did not contract) famously led to his replacement by Jack Swigert.

From NASA Administrator Bill Nelson:

TK’s contributions have allowed for advancements in our learning beyond that of space. He described his experience in orbit by saying, “I had this very palpable fear that if I saw too much, I couldn’t remember. It was just so impressive.” He viewed the universe’s vastness as an unending forum of possibilities. As a leader in exploratory missions, TK will be remembered for braving the unknown for the sake of our country’s future.

[eupat]

[nocternalrandomness]

Apollo 16 - EVA 1 - April 21st, 1972

[gemini-enthusiast]

Move over Mike Collins there's a new funniest astronaut in town

[commodorez]

Apollo 16 Command Module "Casper"

US Space & Rocket Center - Huntsville, AL

[astronotmovie]

Parked by the front door. The Lunar Rover sits by Orion, the Lunar Module during Apollo 16, Apr 1972. The crew of John Young, Charlie Duke & Ken Mattingly experienced many glitches on the way to the moon culminating in concerns in the main engine. Mission Control had considered aborted the entire landing until it was decided the issues could be overcome. Still, as a result of these concerns, the mission ended 1 day earlier than planned.

[humanoidhistory]

Apollo 16 rollout attracts a crowd at the Vehicle Assembly Building, 9 February 1972.

[lonestarflight]

The original Moon landing sites

"NASA contracted to have 15 flight-worthy Saturn V rockets produced. Apollo 11 achieved the first landing with the sixth Saturn V, leaving nine for follow-on landings. The following landing sites were chosen for these missions, planned to occur at intervals of approximately four months through July 1972."

Note: I've updated this list with the original tentative planned launch dates.

G-type Mission

Apollo 11: (G) Mare Tranquillitatis, July 1969

H-type missions

Apollo 12: (H1) Ocean of Storms (Surveyor 3 site), November 1969

Apollo 13: (H2) Fra Mauro Highlands, March 1970

Apollo 14: (H3) Littrow Crater, July 1970

Apollo 15: (H4) Censorinus Crater, November 1970

J-type missions, the extended stay missions

Apollo 16: (J1) Descartes Highlands or Tycho Crater (Surveyor 7 site), April 1971

Apollo 17: (J2) Marius Hills or Marius Hills volcanic domes, September 1971

Apollo 18: (J3) Copernicus crater or Schröter's Valley or Gassendi crater, February 1972, later July 1973

Apollo 19: (J4) Hadley Rille, July 1972, later December 1973

Apollo 20: (J5) Tycho Crater or Copernicus Crater or Marius Hills, December 1972, later July 1974

As we all know, plans were changed and missions were cancelled. But it's nice to see what was initially planned.

To compare with the actual landing sites and dates:

Apollo 12: (H1) Ocean of Storms (Surveyor 3 site), November 1969

Apollo 13: (H2) never landed, April 1970

Apollo 14: (H3) Fra Mauro, January-February 1971

Apollo 15: (J1) Hadley–Apennine, July-August 1971

Apollo 16: (J2) Descartes Highlands, April 1972

Apollo 17: (J3) Taurus–Littrow, December 1972

NASA ID: link, link

Information from Astronautix: link

Information from Wikipedia: link

[janeway-lover]

Since the first Moon Landing in 1969, we’ve sent a total of a dozen men to the Moon. They are

Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11)

Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)

Pete Conrad (Apollo 12)

Alan Bean (Apollo 12)

Alan Shepard (Apollo 14)

Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14)

David Scott (Apollo 15)

John Young (Apollo 16)

Charles Duke (Apollo 16)

Eugene Cernan (Apollo 17)

Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)

[626systems]

The launch of Apollo 16 on April 16, 1972.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Apollo 16: Descartes

On the Moon: Charlie Duke and John Young

In lunar orbit: Ken Mattingly

TIME SINCE LAUNCH 124:55:39

— Hey, that LM makes a nice looking house. — Especially since it's about the only one there. — Yeah. — You're right, Tony. It ain't nothing much up here but a lot of rocks. — Hope he door opens, Charlie.

124:56:58 — RACING WITH THE ROVER

— Man, you are really bouncing! (Pause) — Is he on the ground at all . . . ? — Okay; that's 10 kilometers. Huh? — He's got about two wheels on the ground. There's a big rooster tail out of all four wheels. And as he turns, he skids. The back end breaks loose just like on snow. Come on back, John. And the DAC is running. Man, I'll tell you, Indy's never seen a driver like this. Okay, when he hits the craters and starts bouncing is when he gets his rooster tail. He makes sharp turns. Hey, that was a good stop. Those wheels just locked.

"The Moon: A History for the Future" - Oliver Morton

[gemini-enthusiast]

I got a copy of John Young's autobiography Forever Young in the mail today and the first thing I do when I open any astronaut biography is to look at the pictures. With this one I was looking for one thing in particular: John's affinity for turtlenecks.

Sure enough, it makes an appearance in one of the first pictures.

From left to right, Charlie Duke, Ken Mattingly, and the man himself John Young sporting a turtleneck and a blazer. They're standing in front of the VAB and the Saturn V they'd take to the moon. NASA image KSC-72P-22.